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There are many wonderful craft businesses from which to choose your next sewing or stitching project. Two of these with a beloved following and similar values are our company, Folkwear Sewing Patterns, which creates sewing patterns inspired by historical and folk costume garments from around the world, and Avlea Folk Embroidery, which creates cross stitch and embroidery kits inspired by traditional folk embroidery around the world. In this post, we’ll hear from Folkwear's own Molly Hamilton and Krista West of Avlea Folk Embroidery about how they began their businesses and what challenges and successes they have experienced. Read on for a unique behind-the-scenes view of what it’s like to run a small craft business!
How did we start our businesses?
Molly: Folkwear was started in 1976 by three women in California – Alexandra (Jacopetti) Hart, Barbara Garvey, and Ann Wainwright. They started Folkwear because they did not see patterns for folk clothing that they saw on their travels and that they loved and wanted to wear. They developed sewing patterns, along with the detailing such as embroidery or handwork that were used traditionally with the garments. And they expanded into historic clothing as well.
Folkwear went through several ownerships over the years. In 2014 I went to a local lecture on textiles and the woman presenting was Kate Mathews, the owner of Folkwear at the time. She talked about Folkwear, the history, the designs, the customers, and had a rack of gorgeous clothing samples to show off. At the end of the lecture she said “I really want to retire and I am looking for a younger woman who has the energy to keep this company going.” And I thought, “That’s me.” I had young children still at home at the time and I was working 2 jobs (one was running a small business), but after 2 years, I called Kate and she was excited to work with me, and I took over Folkwear at the end of 2016.
Krista: For many years, I owned a bespoke tailoring business for which I imported fabrics from Greece. I was on a buying trip to Greece when one of my mill agents introduced me to traditional Greek folk embroidery. I was utterly smitten by the geometric designs and bold color palettes, and I bought some basic supplies that day and started stitching that night in my hotel room. When I got home, I continued to stitch old designs and which led me to start collecting vintage embroideries and vintage patterns so I could learn more. It was only when people started commenting on the unique embroideries I had around my house that I thought that other stitchers might be interested in these old designs.
What has been the evolution of our businesses?
Molly: Folkwear has been around for almost 50 years, so there has been lots of change, but consistency of producing high quality sewing patterns for meaningful and authentic folk and historic clothing from around the world has continued. The iconic Folkwear illustrations were done by Gretchen Schields, who is an incredible artist and was friends with the original founders of Folkwear. She has retired, and we now use local artists for illustrations and photographs. In the last 8 years, I have worked to digitize most of the Folkwear pattern collection. There were two reasons for this: 1. To preserve the patterns (the films they were printed on were dissolving from age); and 2. To provide customers with digital patterns (PDF patterns). PDF sewing patterns are very popular, and customers appreciate the instant downloads (no shipping, which is especially helpful for international customers).
But we also like to keep patterns in print. It has been a business and economic challenge to figure out how to keep patterns in print and manage inventory. We lost our main pattern printer a few years ago and our new printer has very large minimums. So, after navigating small print runs for some patterns, we finally bought our own printer and now we can print our own patterns. We could have let patterns go out of print and only offer the digital version, but the digital option is only helpful to customers who have access to computers, printers, and good wifi. So, we try to keep patterns in print, especially patterns that are important to a particular culture.
Krista: Avlea started with just eight designs. Originally, I thought I would only offer patterns, but then I realized you couldn’t find the traditional folk fabrics in the US, which are an integral part of creating authentic folk embroidery. I asked one of my Greek suppliers to ship me a bolt of Traditional Groundcloth so I could start making a few kits. I was really surprised when kits became much more popular than patterns. The interest in kits ended up being a really great creative challenge—I started thinking, “How can I create the highest-quality embroidery kit, one that I would want to buy?” At this point, as a bespoke tailor, I regularly worked on pieces of brocade that cost over $1000 and I used very expensive finishings, so I was accustomed to using the best quality supplies. I wanted to use this experience to create a top-notch embroidery kit that would be designed in such a way that a stitcher could have an authentic and confident stitching experience, no matter their skill level. A big part of this was doing the math and creating patterns that would allow a stitcher to simply open the kit and start stitching without having to calculate how many repeats to work or figure out what size your piece of fabric needed to be. I’ve been refining that process ever since and I’m always thinking about the stitcher’s experience of the kit—is the pattern clear? Are the repeats easy to follow? Will this give a stitcher a really great experience?
Where do we find inspiration for new designs?
Molly: We find inspiration for new patterns from several sources. Our customers are a big one! They often send us ideas of garments they want us to make patterns for. We had so many requests for a bunad pattern over the years, that we finally produced one. This took several years to make, and I am excited that we got to collaborate with Krista and Avlea Folk Embroidery on the embroidery designs for this pattern. We also get inspiration from the garments we have in our collection. For instance, the 280 Resort Kaftan pattern (released in 2024), came from a fun kaftan we had in our collection of vintage garments. It was so lovely, with simple details, and a flattering shape, that I knew we should make it into a pattern. I also find inspiration from the half-finished patterns in our files from the years before I took over Folkwear. There are so many great ideas in there from years past that just need a refining, changing, or more development. We got our Basics Collection from a set of those half-finished patterns.
Krista: My inspiration for the designs comes from my collection of vintage embroideries and embroidery patterns, my trips to Greece where I study folk costume and folk embroidery, and just like Molly, Avlea customers who send me the most fantastic photos of their family heirlooms! Many historic textiles are really big and complex, so I try to “translate” the overall feel of the embroidery, but in a size a modern stitcher will feel confident to stitch. For color palette inspiration, I use the Mediterranean world as my foundation, and then I stay open to what I see around me in the natural world. When I go out walking, I’m looking at how colors interplay in nature—for example, there’s a creek near my house with the most beautifully colored rocks in shades of gray, black, taupe, and clay red, and I’m using these colors for a design on taupe-colored linen right now.
What patterns would we recommend to a beginning sewist/stitcher?
Molly: The Basics Collection is great for a beginner, but if you are wanting to make folk clothing, I think the 142 Old Mexico Dress is a great one. It is so simple, with no fasteners, and you can play with fabric combinations or add embroidery to the dress or shirt (it is also a great base for embroidery!). For our historic pattern line, I think the 254 Swing Coat is a good start (again, no closures), but 269 Metropolitan Hat would also be a fun and small project.
Krista: This is a great question! I think first and foremost, you want to choose something that you just love because it’s going to keep you motivated as you learn. If the design and colors just call to you, go for it! If you really want to get the hang of cross stitching, then I recommend one of the allover BitKit designs, like Asteria or Mykonos Meadow, because the designs are smaller and it allows you to get your stitching technique down before you take on more complex projects.
What patterns would we recommend to an experienced sewist/stitcher?
Molly: We have lots of patterns that seem fairly simple, but layers of complexity can be added to them to make the pattern good for beginners as well as for experienced sewists. For instance, the 113 Japanese Kimono is a fairly simple garment with straight seams and no closures. But, our pattern for the kimono, or yukata, has a typical Japanese construction which means the seam allowance changes for each size. If you were using narrow handwoven fabric (as a traditional kimono would), you would not want to cut the valuable fabric to size so you would construct the garment to fit the person, not the fabric to fit the size. This is not a typical Western sewing process, but allows for the garment to change for a body’s changing size or so that it can be altered for someone else over time. And the pattern also provides instructions for sashiko embroidery as well as traditional shibori dyeing. So, there is a lot for an experienced sewist to enjoy. Many of our patterns are like this. The popular 205 Gibson Girl Blouse can be made with lace insertion and edging, French seams, and a traditional cut, or it can be made without lace, regular seams, and in a more modern cut. There is a lot for every level of sewist in our patterns.
Krista: One of the things that is so wonderful about folk embroidery is the wide range of really complex, mind-blowingly gorgeous designs! It’s what first drew me to folk embroidery—I had no idea cross stitch could be so intricate and so stunning. For experienced stitchers, I would definitely recommend designs that combines cross stitches and backstitches, like Taline’s Tulips or Iris’ Paintbox, because those designs really embody traditional folk embroidery. The larger border squares like Clara’s Garden or Myriam’s Garden are also great for experienced stitchers.
What is it like to be both a creative and a small business owner?
Krista: Busy! Sometimes it can feel like a game of Whack-a-Mole—you just get things settled at the website and then you have an issue with your photos; you just get the photos sorted and then one of your core DMC colors is backordered; you get the DMC cones in and then you realize you’re behind on making kits! So it’s definitely wearing a lot of hats, but you just have to embrace that—I’m a person who likes a lot of variety in my work and I get bored easily, so it suits me very well. And because I didn’t start Avlea until I was in my late 40s, it’s definitely pushed me to embrace learning new skills and accepting that I’m not going to get things right on the first try. But that has been really valuable in my life to have this work that keeps me challenged and cognitively engaged—I joke to my family that Avlea is the ultimate anti-dementia medicine!
Molly: I agree with Krista, it is wearing a lot of hats and putting out a lot of “fires” (like Whack-a-Mole). Some days I get to be creative and make samples or work on designs. But most days I am doing planning, marketing, and maintenance (and putting out “fires”). I really enjoy this part of the business also because it is problem-solving, and it often involves communicating with customers (through customer service or marketing). I am also a widowed mom of 4 children, so I am often creatively fitting in driving kids to sports or music practices, pick-ups from school, and all the other things that come with school-aged children.
How long is the process to bring a new pattern from concept to a physical product?
Molly: It typically takes us about a year to get a new pattern from concept to physical product. It can be longer – the Bunad pattern took us several years because we kept changing the design to fit our ideas better and updating the construction to be easier to sew, and then we would set it aside for several months to work on other projects. This pattern was a balance between deeply authentic and approachable. But the 280 Resort Kaftan was a simpler pattern and we were able to get that to production within a few months. There is a great deal of work that goes into producing a sewing pattern. You start with an idea or design. Then you must create a pattern for it, test the pattern to see if it will work and design how it will be put together in a way that is easiest for our customers. Once we have a good design, we have to grade the pattern into the different sizes. Then we have to write and illustrate instructions, which can be a lot of work. Then we have to test the instructions and illustrations to make sure they are correct, and edit them. Once we have a graded pattern and instructions, we have to test the different sizes (and make adjustments as needed), make samples, photograph samples, and create the package (pattern, instructions, illustrations, cover design, etc.). Then, we have to proof everything again and go to print, which can also take several weeks to several months. It is a LOT of work!
Krista: Typically about 6-10 months after I’ve found my initial inspiration from a textile or photo. It takes me about 2-3 months to adapt and chart a design and get the colors and layout just right, then another couple of months to stitch the sample, then a month or two to finish the sample, photograph it and do any needed video or reels with it, and then have my graphic designer create the pattern. I try to have the pattern ready to go about three weeks before the release so I’ve got time to make up all the kits before I add them to the website. One of the things I really like about folk embroidery is that it is “season-less”, so I’m not usually working under deadlines related to a specific season like summer or the holidays. If a design just seems to be taking longer, then I have the flexibility to set it aside for awhile and circle back around to it later. Often, that’s when I do what I think is my best work because I have a lot of time to just sort of see and rotate the design in my mind while I’m serging or packing orders or doing other things like that around the workshop. It’s not uncommon for me to have an “aha!” design moment in the middle of doing something like serging or winding floss.
We have been in the craft/garment/textile industry a long time—what changes have happened that have positively impacted our business? (I’m thinking social media, YouTube, PDF patterns, etc.)
Molly: You know, I have been sewing all my life, but have only been in the business for the last 10 years. My first career was in agriculture! I think the growth of PDF sewing patterns has been a big and positive change. Customers can get patterns right away and they don’t have to pay for shipping. If there is a change to be made to the pattern, they can get the updates for free. And using projectors is a change I also see that customers are really enjoying – and files for projectors can be included in the PDF patterns. It has also been fun to connect to customers via social media. We love to see what people are making!
Krista: Well, considering I began my career in the garment industry in 1995 and people were still faxing in orders, there have been so many changes! The Internet, websites, e-commerce, YouTube, social media, basically everything is different than when I began my career. For the most part, I’ve found these technological advancements have been incredibly helpful to me as a small business owner—for example, I used to spend a lot of time preparing invoices and now people order with just the click of a button. Email communication has been the single greatest timesaver for me—I used to spend hours every week on the phone with clients which was all time I wasn’t creating stuff. The only downside I’ve experienced is that sometimes people can have unrealistic delivery expectations, but that’s gotten much better in the last few years as support for small businesses has grown and customers realize that we’re actual human beings making and packing and shipping your order. And, I agree with Molly that PDF patterns have been an incredible invention—I have many international clients who have access to designs without having to pay expensive shipping and customs.
What are two areas in which you’ve had to challenge yourself to learn something new or push yourself in a new direction?
Molly: Haha. I feel like I am always learning something new and pushing myself in a new direction. I have learned pattern drafting, I have learned bookkeeping, and I have learned to pass on some of these jobs to others. I do enjoy pattern drafting, though. I like the math involved and the challenge of taking something 3-dimensional (a garment or garment concept), making a 2-dimensional pattern, and then creating another 3-dimensional object from that.
Krista: Social media and photography, for sure. When I began Avlea in 2018, I had never had a social media account of any kind and I was totally overwhelmed. But my daughters, who were 18 and 20 at the time, gave me the best advice—they rolled their eyes and said, “Mom, it’s not like everything has to be perfect, people just want to see what you do.” That gave me the confidence to show up as a 48-year-old woman who didn’t know what a hashtag was or how to find portrait mode on my phone and I just embraced the fact that I was older and didn’t know how all this worked but at least I was trying—sort of an “A for effort” approach. And, it has shown me so much of the good side of humanity—people are so kind and encouraging, even of my most hapless efforts! Photography was much the same: I had always been afraid of photography as this rarified skill but it ended up being something I really needed to do learn so I could communicate what I was imagining creatively with these beautiful folk embroideries, and now I really enjoy working on my photography skills and seeing my progress from design to design.
What are some of your successes?
Molly: I am very proud of getting so much of the Folkwear catalog digitized. This was an enormous challenge as most of our patterns had no digital record at all – they were on film that was decomposing or lost. We now have a digital record for most Folkwear patterns that will hopefully last for a very long time. We still have some patterns to digitize, so that will be the work of the next few years. I am also glad that we have graded up many of our patterns from the late 1980s and 1990s that were only available in a very small size range. I also started quite a bit of pattern printing in-house. Our challenge for printed patterns is that the only printer in the US that can print sewing patterns on tissue has large minimums. To manage inventory, it made sense for us to print many of our own patterns. This allows us to keep patterns in print and bring patterns back from out-of-print, as well as manage how and when we print. We started printing our own patterns on a wide format printer, and we have a folding machine so we have control of our printing process. All of these things have made our patterns more accessible.
Krista: I agree with Molly that printing in-house has been a definite success. Early on, another designer suggested I get a commercial-type printer and I am SO glad I did—it allows me to make quick edits and be able to reprint all in a single day so my patterns can be as accurate as possible. And, it helps keep prices down which is important to me. I also think my photos are getting better and I’m really proud of that because it definitely does not come to me as easily and effortlessly as designing and stitching do. Publishing my first book on folk embroidery last year was an achievement, and that has been so wonderful to see it go out into the world and spark other people’s creativity. This year, I’ve been starting to do more collaborations (like the one I just did with Folkwear on their Norwegian Bunad folk costume pattern!) and I’m really excited about those because I like being inspired by other people’s creative work. But, overall, just getting to be in my studio every day, designing and making kits and doing what I love, is the greatest success for me.
What are you most proud of about your business?
Molly: I am proud that Folkwear is still going strong after nearly 50 years in business, and I am proud to make our patterns more accessible. I love that Folkwear provides such great sewing patterns for people to connect to their heritage, history, or to other cultures and times. It is a privilege to steward this company forward.
Krista: I am proud that, together, my customers and I are keeping folk embroidery alive and creating a welcoming stitching community for those who want to explore folk embroidery. These designs are so ancient and have been with us as humans for millennia, and I feel honored that I get to be part of a community that passes them on to the next generation. It’s absolutely what gets me out of bed in the morning!
Molly and Krista love how their creative businesses complement each other, and they are excited to be collaborating on Folkwear's newest pattern, 147 Norwegian Bunad.
